Spec comparison: Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza Vs Mahindra TUV300

The compact SUV segment in India is where the party is at the moment. New entrants are being announced to stake their claim in the race. First there was the Renault Duster in 2012 which was followed by the Ford EcoSport in 2013. Mahindra entered the fray last year with the TUV300 and market leader Maruti Suzuki has now brought in its own competitor- the Vitara Brezza. It was showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo and has now gone on sale with a starting price of Rs 6.99 lakh. To see how it stands up to the competition, we have been comparing it to its rivals and this time around in the arena with the Brezza, is the Mahindra TUV300.   

Dimensions
The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Mahindra TUV300 are guided by the same regulations so in terms of size they are pretty much on the same plane . Both measure in 3.99 metres and have wheelbases of 2850mm and 2680mm respectively. The all-important ground clearance which gives these cars their SUV stance too is on the same lines with the Brezza at 198mm and the TUV at 200mm.

However, in terms of overall appearance, the Brezza leans towards the crossover segment while the TUV goes for the boxy old-school SUV look. It is pretty clear that Brezza is aimed towards urban buyers while the TUV is meant to focus on buyers from tier-2, tier-3 cities as well as rural areas.

Inside, the TUV is a seven-seater affair with jump seats in the third row as compared to the Brezza which can seat five in decent comfort.

Equipment
When you examine the feature lists of both the cars, you get a sense that every time one of the vehicles loses out on a feature it makes up for the loss  elsewhere and co-incidentally the other car seems to be lacking that feature.  

Firstly on the safety front, both cars get two airbags  and ABS+ EBD as standard features across all variants, however, the Vitara Brezza also gets brake assist. On the entertainment front, both cars in our comparison (Brezza ZDi and TUV300 T8) get a CD player with USB, AUX-IN, Bluetooth connectivity, steering mounted audio controls.

Here the TUV holds an upper hand as its 2-DIN system also gets a display, voice recognition as well as a mobile application a.k.a Blue Sense. The Brezza however, has climate control and ambient lighting- the latter, a first in segment feature. Also if you go for the top-spec variant you can get a touchscreen infotainment system.
The punch-for-punch continues on smaller things like the Brezza having projector head lamps but the TUV300 getting static cornering lamps. In the cabin the Brezza gets a leather wrapped wheel and gear knob while the TUV has lumbar support for both the front seats; two unlikely things to compare but connected in the overall picture to comfort levels.
Finally, the crucial number- boot space! The TUV has a 384-litre boot as compared to the Brezza’s 328-litre boot but the latter in this variant gets 60:40 split folding rear seats which should see the boot space increase significantly.

Engine and gearbox
The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza is powered by the 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engine that produces 89bhp @ 4000rpm and 200Nm @ 1750rpm of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels via a five-speed manual. The TUV300 is powered by the 1.5-litre three-cylinder mHAWK80 engine that produces 84bhp @ 3750rpm and 230Nm @ 1500rpm.

It can be had with a five-speed manual or a five-speed AMT that sends power to the rear wheels. The TUV while down on power, has a higher torque figure which also comes in a tad bit earlier. Also, the AMT while a bit slow makes a huge difference in traffic heavy situations.

The Vitara Brezza trumps the TUV300 variant for variant in terms of price. However, when we compare the ZDi Plus and T8 AMT it is the latter that is cheaper by exactly Rs 30,000.